The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children aged five to 11.
The FDA made the announcement on Friday.
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now expected to meet next Tuesday to decide whether to recommend vaccination for the age group.
Like older people, children in the age group would be required to get their second shot three weeks after the first. They would receive 10 micrograms per dose, or one third of the amount given to those aged 12 and older.
The CDC says about 8,300 children aged five to 11 in the United States have been hospitalized due to coronavirus infection. It says 146 have died.
A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that about 117,000 children in the country were infected between October 14 and 21. The figure is a quarter of the total.
Attention is focused on whether vaccinating young children will help to curb the spread of infections.
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